A question of Zyklon.

I think it is impossible to choose a word that doesn't have a loaded meaning for someone. I'd almost like to see more loaded words get "unloaded" through more regular use. Nobody thinks of "mustard" the same way they do about "zyklon", but both are similarly loaded. The difference? Mustard (the condiment) is so common, it would be absurd to ban it or rebrand it for it's -evil- connotation. People are preventing zyklon for having an opportunity to become an unloaded word.

If we avoided all words with alternate meanings the language would have to develop a crap load of new words. What, beacuse the insecticide used was called Zyklon, does that mean that word is untouchable for the rest of time? It's a German word that should be used for whatever people want. It's not like they are calling their products "Kill A Jew Shoes" or anything. This is taking sensitifity to the extreme.

I'll admit that as soon as I saw the word "Zyklon" I immediately thought of Zyklon B...well, specifically I thought of the song "Zyklon B Zombie" by Throbbing Gristle. I think it would be prudent for any company using the word to exclude it from use outside of German-speaking markets. Stuff like this happens all the time. Companies have to be careful what words they use for their products in foreign markets. I've come across a number of amusing translations of product names:

Chevy Nova = Chevy No Go
Coca Cola = Bite The Wax Tadpole
Crapz (a Norwegian Soft Drink)

I find the use of Zyklon by Siemens by far the most offensive, especially since they were planning to use it on a gas cooker! What the hell were they thinking?

By mustard I assume you are referring to mustard gas. You are aware that mustard gas is make totally from chemicals, not from the mustard plant aren't you? The gas got it's name from the color and odor of the gas.

This is spastic. Words are words.

Yes, and Zyklon B wasn't made from real cyclones, either. My point is that there is a word association. I mean, germans probably use the word "zyklon" fairly regularly, especially if they're having a conversation about, say, tropical weather effects. Similarly, we may talk about mustard in a food discussion. Why should we feel compelled to ban the word "zyklon" as a product name when we don't ban the word "mustard"? They are equally suited to refer to benign (okay, cyclones aren't exactly benign) concepts as well as chemicals that were used in wartime to kill people...

Coors put its slogan, "Turn It Loose," into Spanish, where it was read as "Suffer From Diarrhea."

Clairol introduced the "Mist Stick," a curling iron, into Germany only to find out that "mist" is slang for manure. Not too many people had use for the "Manure Stick."

Puffs tissues tried to introduce its product in German only to learn that "Puff" in German is a colloquial term for a whorehouse.

An American T-shirt maker in Miami printed shirts for the Spanish market which promoted the Pope's visit. Instead of "I saw the Pope" (el Papa), the shirts read "I Saw the Potato" (la papa).

The Coca-Cola name in China was first read as "Kekoukela", meaning "Bite the wax tadpole" or "female horse stuffed with wax", depending on the dialect. Coke then researched 40,000 characters to find a phonetic equivalent "kokou kole", translating into "happiness in the mouth."(Further info on the previously mentioned Coke translation).

Ford had a problem in Brazil when the Pinto flopped. The company discovered that the word Pinto was Brazilian slang for "tiny male genitals". See, I knew Fords sucked.

When Kentucky Fried Chicken entered the Chinese market, they discovered that their slogan "finger lickin' good" was translated as "eat your fingers off".

Colgate introduced a toothpaste in France called Cue, the name of a notorious porno magazine.

When American Airlines wanted to advertise its new leather first class seats in the Mexican market, it translated its "Fly In Leather" campaign literally, which meant "Fly Naked" (vuela en cuero) in Spanish.

It depends on the word, and the actual associations it has.

This is a very interesting question, and I was planning to write a very detailed reply to it, but I'm a) knackered, and b) pissed, so I think I'll leave my more detailed thoughts until tomorrow.

(Note: "pissed" in Britain means drunk, not angry. Just thought I should point that out. Although I am also pissed in the American sense, for reasons that I don't really feel like discussing in detail at the moment)

Any manufacturers inept enough to permit their products carrying a name with an alternate well-known (and well-despised) meaning deserve whatever flak they get not only their insensitivity but their appalling lack of business smarts.

So what? I heard they call cigarattes jerks in England.

If they were producing an insecticide or pretty much any other lethal substance with the name Zyklon (B), I could see people being justified in protesting. But naming completely unrelated products, like running shoes or vacuum cleaners, seems fine to me. The word "Zykon" has other meanings, after all. Of course, they should stay away from naming *anything* "The Final Solution."

I don't see a real problem with naming a shoe Zyklon, but naming a gas stove Zyklon is pretty insensitive!

There is a French hair removal product being sold on TV in the U.S. called Nads. Maybe it means something different in French, but in the U.S. nads is of course slang for testicles!

You have a point, but I still think Siemens should have thought twice before naming a gas stove Zyklon. I frankly find that far more inappropriate than naming a vacumn cleaner or sneakers the same name, but a gas stove...not a good idea in my book!

If the name offends enough people it will affect sales of the product, so for the manufacturers' own sake they should be careful of the names they choose. As far as I'm concerned, I don't care a bit what they do. The name meant nothing to me until I read the explanation.

I think that people should grow up.

I agree with what you said, and yet my first thought when I read your post was "how on earth can she use the word spastic?" It's weird, the pc-ness takes over sometimes. "Spastic" is a word that's become so un-pc that it's not even in my vocabulary anymore. I know that it's stupid, but I'd bite my tongue off before I'd use it.

Sometimes I think the world has gone mad. The rest of the time I know that it's just me!

spaz!

Wicked woman!!!

yes, I am.

I think there's been a little confusion on the actual subject of this survey, which I'd like to clear up. Obviously I didn't want the explanation to be too long so maybe I didn't spell things out clearly enough, and I'll try to do that here.
Whilst there are plenty of internet sites already currently devoted to humourous mis-translations or badly translated product names, that is not what this survey is concerned with. Brand names like Piss, Schitt and Ass Glue may sound harmless in their country of original but they take on other meanings when transferred to another country with a different language.
Neither am I referring to words which have connotations for the majority. No one is about to introduce a dieting pill called Holocaust anytime soon.
What this survey is concerned with are words in a particular language that whilst innocent to many who speak that language have connotations to a minority who speak the same language. Zyklon is a German word. It doesn't mean anything in English and when translated into English it means Cyclone, which is fairly harmless. It does however, in its original German form, have a definite historical connotation for some people.
Consider a dairy manufacturer deciding to launch a butter with the brand name "Cottager's Cream". Now the word cottage is generally defined as "a small, single-storied house, especially in the country" and a cottage is described as "one who resides in a cottage" so the brand "Cottager's Cream" may at first glance conjure images of old-fashioned, handmade, natural goodness. However, the term "cottaging" is a slang term referring to the practise of picking up gay sex is men's public toilets (perhaps the world's most famous cottager being George Michael). Now what images does the brand "Cottager's Cream" conjure up in your mind?

This is a little like the Two Towers debate. I think for a car this is fine.

Good example Dino. I was trying to think of another real world scenario to explain that this survey is not about humourous or unfortunate mistranslations of foreign products. The only example I could come up with was the one I made up (a butter called "Cottager's Cream"). Have you actually read the Two Towers on-line petition?

No I've not read it. I think its a stupid and insulting (to literature) idea.
I chuckled on your example.

Actually, I looked up the Chevy Nova and Coca Cola stories on snopes.com and found these:

Chevy Nova
Coca Cola

That site seems to be down right now. I'll try to remember to check it later...

Words with alternate meanings for some people should only be avoided... if they are going to cause the company a huge drop in sales. I mean, I think it's cool to not piss people off but in some cases it just gets out of control. This may be an instance - there was another German thing where a company or product had the same initials as a concentration camp and people got upset about that. Well, I don't have anything against people getting upset but I think sometimes they overreact and you have to take that into account when you're deciding whether or not to rename your product. If the thing works like a cyclone, call it a damned cyclone.

The thing about Zyklon is that the connotations of the word are probably worse in English than they are in German. To a German, the name of the gas and the name for a weather disturbance are the same - they can consider either connotation. For an American (for example), Zyklon is a German word which only describes a gas used to kill people. A German might see the gas stove and think "aha, the air inside moves like a cyclone" but an American would only think of the Holocaust.

If you do the research like you SHOULD, marketing will tell you that if you want to avoid confrontation, you better not use that name etc. DUH

I have a very dirty mind so you tell me! Actually I've never heard the terms "cottager" or "cottaging" used in a sexual manner. Are these terms used in the U.S.?

What else could cottaging be?

Living in a cottage I suppose. Or something referring to cottage cheese. I don't know...I just know this is the first time I've heard the term "cottaging".

Hee hee hee

Biggles has the giggles again!

I think that idea is that both versions of "Cottager's Cream" would conjure up images of hand-made (cough) "natural goodness". I have no idea whether there is an equivalent slang word in the states for the practise of picking up gay sex in a public toilet, but I know its been called cottaging here in the UK for as long as I can remember.
And since you've admitted to having a dirty mind, you won't mind me telling you that the most useful item any cottager can have is an empty sports bag. And the reason?
Let's say John has just met Brad and they're both in a toilet cubicle. John wants to suck Brad off but doesn't want to get caught. So John sits down on the toilet seat and Brad stands facing him with his feet *inside* the empty sports bag. This way they can go about their .. erm.. business.. and any passing lavatory attendants that feels tempted to crouch down to take a peak under the door on his way past will merely see what appears to be one man having a rather strenuous dump after having been to the gym .

That's funny, but clever!

*pops*

I believe that "names" on some items are important and sometimes it is not. You hear alot of people say they bought so and such because it was brand named and should be good because it has that name on it. Not every item with a name means it is good or better than another...u just have to try the product out for yourself...and plus, many words have alternate meanings...so people who can't handle that...it is too bad!!!

Let's just say you won't find me buying "Nads Hair Removal Gel" any time soon.

Ha.... how true.. but some of us like the nads with no with no hair....

words don't kill people, toxic gasses kill people.
if millions of people were beaten to death with Pepsi bottles, should PepsiCo be expected to change their name? I don't think so.

My washing powder reminded me of this survey - it's called Cyclon Biological - Cyclon B